Alice & Bob joins EU-backed €50 million SUPREME quantum manufacturing project

By AI, Created 5:06 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – The EU-backed SUPREME project has launched in Helsinki with 23 consortium partners to build scalable manufacturing for superconducting quantum devices. Alice & Bob will use the pilot line to test its cat-qubit chips and gain another European foundry route as it scales toward commercial production.

Why it matters: - SUPREME is meant to help Europe industrialize superconducting quantum technology, a key step for moving quantum computing from research into manufacturable hardware. - The project is designed to expand access to advanced fabrication for European SMEs, large enterprises, startups and academia. - Alice & Bob gets another European foundry pathway as it works to scale superconducting cat-qubit chips toward commercial requirements.

What happened: - The European Union-backed SUPREME project kicked off in Helsinki on May 12, 2026. - The initiative carries a €50 million ($56 million) budget. - Alice & Bob joined the consortium as one of 23 partners. - The project focuses on industrializing superconducting quantum technologies across Europe.

The details: - SUPREME will develop scalable and stable fabrication processes for superconducting quantum devices. - The pilot services are meant to develop and validate advanced manufacturing processes. - The pilot line combines advanced fabrication techniques and quality-assurance methods. - The goal is high-yield production of superconducting quantum chips through reliable, scalable, stable and reproducible processes. - Alice & Bob will use the foundry to design and test superconducting cat-qubit chips. - Alice & Bob will assess manufacturing performance against commercial quality requirements. - Alice & Bob is a quantum computing company based in Paris and Boston. - The company was founded in 2020 and employs more than 250 people. - Alice & Bob aims to create the first universal, fault-tolerant quantum computer. - The company specializes in cat qubits, a technology developed by its founders. - Alice & Bob says its cat architecture can reduce the hardware requirements for building a useful large-scale quantum computer by up to 200 times compared with competing approaches.

Between the lines: - The project reflects a broader push to build a European quantum supply chain instead of relying on outside manufacturing capacity. - Alice & Bob’s role suggests the pilot line is intended to serve commercial needs, not just academic research. - The company’s access to additional fabrication capabilities could help it de-risk manufacturing as it scales. - Jorden Senior, project coordinator for the SUPREME Quantum Pilot Line, said the presence of leading companies from day one should help ensure the processes developed are relevant from the outset, not only in the lab. - Cécile Perrault, director of innovation and partnerships at Alice & Bob, said manufacturing remains a decisive bottleneck in quantum computing and that access to additional high-quality fabrication capabilities is critical to turning scientific progress into commercial reality.

What’s next: - SUPREME will move into pilot services that validate manufacturing processes and test whether the pilot line can meet industry needs. - Alice & Bob will continue designing and testing its superconducting cat-qubit chips through the foundry pathway. - The consortium’s work will help determine how quickly Europe can build scalable, reproducible production for superconducting quantum devices.

The bottom line: - SUPREME is a major European bet that manufacturing, not just quantum theory, will decide who scales first.